


A New Start

by ilostmyothersock



Series: Baby!Buck AU [1]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:00:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24413992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilostmyothersock/pseuds/ilostmyothersock
Summary: This is an AU in which Maddie gets custody of Buck and takes him to LA to start over. (TW: Past child abuse, anxiety, nightmares)
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Howie "Chimney" Han, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Maddie Buckley, Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Series: Baby!Buck AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1763062
Comments: 33
Kudos: 266





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So this is Baby!Buck AU with a lackluster new title and a few edits. Mind the TW.

She’s standing outside their new apartment with her little brother balanced on her hip and her suitcase by her side. As she shifts to open the door she accidentally jostles him, and his cast bumps against her back from where his little arms are slung around her neck. She’s 24 and now she’s not only responsible for herself, but for her baby brother (not that that’s really any different from how it’s been since he was born, but now it’s on paper and official) and she’s just dragged him across the country on a whim.

Well, maybe not on a whim, but has she _really_ thought this through? It was the first decent job offer she got and she jumped at it, and she thought maybe a fresh start might be nice. 

She didn't tell anyone in Hershey where they were moving to, and she hopes nobody ever finds out.


	2. Chapter 2

He’s been hesitant and unsure since they moved (and, honestly, before that too) and she hates it. She thinks maybe he doesn’t know how to feel safe, even though she hopes he knows she would never lay a hand on him. So, when they’re walking back from getting groceries and they pass by a park and he looks up at her with those big blue eyes, asking without words if he can go, she can’t say no. They’ve got ice cream that will start melting soon but they’ve got to wait for the bus anyways, so she ruffles his blond curls and gives him an encouraging nod before settling herself down on a nearby bench where she can watch him but still see the bus stop. She cringes inwardly as she sees him running for the jungle gym, hoping he’s not about to try out the monkey bars with a broken arm, but then a group of kids that look about his age see him and excitedly rope him into a game of tag. As she hears him laughing freely for the first time in what feels like ages, she feels herself relax. She zones out a little, keeping one eye on him and the other on the time (she really doesn’t want to miss the bus), but he runs out far enough that when he trips and slams hard on his knees, even though she sees it happen, a stranger beats her to him.

By the time she reaches him, panicked and out of breath, there’s a guy about her age kneeling in front of him. The other kids are gathered around in shocked silence, and the other parents are running over, but her eyes are stuck on Evan as his lower lip quivers and she sees him trying to hold back tears. His knees and cast-free hand are definitely skinned (she allows herself a small sigh of relief that he didn't land hard on his broken arm), and she internally beats herself up for not having bandaids on her. She’s taking care of an eight-year-old full time now, and she’s a nurse, she really should be more prepared. The guy (good-looking, and pretty built, she can’t help but notice) is telling Evan about how just yesterday he rescued a cat out of a tree and would you believe it but the dumb thing just took off and climbed right back up when they got him down? Evan is giggling despite the tears, barely flinching as the guy swipes the cuts with antiseptic, sticking on band-aids with sure, gentle hands.

“Evan!” Maddie drops to her knees beside him, her chest clenched in worry. The stranger looks kind, sure, and is definitely being helpful, but he’s still a stranger, and they’re in a new place, and she didn’t get Evan out of Hershey to let some new danger take him from her. The guy, having finished his work, taps Evan on the nose and smiles at him, and Maddie finds herself with a lapful of baby brother.

“Are you okay, Evan?” She tilts his face up towards hers, quickly looking him over for other damage. He seems fine, though, and he bites his lip as he leans up and whispers to her with a stifled giggle,

“His name is Chimney! Like a chimney!”

The whisper clearly wasn’t whispered enough, though, because the guy flushes a little and stumbles to explain himself.

“Sorry, sorry, no my name is Howie... uh... Howard, Chimney is just a nickname, sorry.”

She shakes her head, waving off his apology before hesitantly extending the hand that isn’t wrapped around Evan’s back.

“Maddie. Thank you for, uh...” she gestures at her brother’s knees. Howie/Chimney grins tentatively at her, shaking his head.

“No, no worries at all. I’m actually, uh, a paramedic? With the 118. Part of the job.”

That reassures her more than a little and she finally lets go of the apprehension she was holding onto.

“Oh,” she smiles at him. “Still, thank you.” She looks up at the sound of breaks, and swears under her breath as the bus pulls up to the stop. Their groceries are on the other side of the park, their ice cream might just have to melt in the LA heat.

“Shoot,” she hears Howie/Chimney mumble, and she looks up to see him also looking at the bus.

“Oh! Oh I’m so sorry, I’m sure if you run...” the bus is already pulling away with a rumble, though, and she grimaces guiltily realizing that the guy is now also in for a twenty-minute wait. He shakes his head, smiling at her.

“It’s fine, I’ve got nothing that’ll melt on me anyway.” He picks up his bags of groceries, looking around, presumably for somewhere to sit.

“Hey, uh... we do though?” He frowns and looks at her, confused. “Sorry... uh... I mean, we have ice cream sandwiches, and they’re definitely going to melt, if you’d like one? Um... if you eat ice cream, that is... If not... I really am sorry that you missed it, I know these are so annoyingly far apart.”

She definitely would have kept rambling, but by this point Evan has clued into the fact that she said they would just _have_ to eat the ice cream and has gotten up, tears forgotten, and is pulling urgently on her hand.

A slow, hesitant smile spreads across the guy’s face as he realizes what she’s asking, and he nods, following them back to the bench.


	3. Chapter 3

As she sits on the bench with Howie, each eating an ice cream sandwich (with Evan perched in her lap eating his own carefully), Maddie learns that Howie is 26, lives on the same bus route that she does, and works as a firefighter and paramedic at Station 118. She learns that his dad lives in Korea, that his captain’s name is Bobby (and that if he ever leaves firefighting he should really become a chef), and that his best friend’s name is Henrietta, but that said best friend only ever responds to "Hen."

Chimney learns that her name is Maddie, that the kid (who’s name he already knew was Evan, having been one of the first things he asked when he came over after seeing the kid fall) is her little brother, and that he’s eight (tiny kid, really, he was sure he couldn’t be more than six). He learns that they just moved from Pennsylvania, where she recently finished nursing school. She doesn’t say anything about their parents, or where exactly she works, or where exactly in Pennsylvania they came from, and he doesn’t ask. 

After learning that they’ve only been in LA for just over a week, Chimney enthusiastically gives her a list of recommendations of things to see and do, and confirms that this is, in fact, the cheapest grocery store in the area. Maddie finds herself put at ease by his bright smile and excited rambling, but she reminds herself that he is still a stranger, so while they do make more small talk on the bus, and he offers to help her with her bags once he sees that Evan has dozed off against her shoulder, she shakes her head with a smile, assures him that she’s got it, and makes sure to get off a stop early just in case. She’s exhausted by the time she gets back to their little apartment, and maybe she could have used the help, but as she presses a kiss to Evan’s curls as she carefully puts him down on the couch she reminds herself that it’s not just her that she’s got to keep safe now.

She’s almost (well maybe not really, he _was_ pretty cute) forgotten about Howie when a week later when she’s at work still trying to find her feet as a new ER nurse, she hears a familiar voice blurt out, “Maddie?”

She whips around in surprise (and, honestly, a little panic, because she doesn’t really know anyone in LA and she definitely hopes no one from home found her) but when she places the voice and sees Howie smiling tentatively at her, her shoulders slump in relief and she grins.

“Howie!”

He awkwardly shoves his hands in his pockets as he searches for something to say. He’s in his uniform (and he looks pretty good in it if she’s honest with herself), and another paramedic (female, with buzzed hair) snorts and claps him on the shoulder, muttering something quietly to him before turning around and walking back out to the ambulance Maddie can see is parked outside.

Maddie walks over to him, wringing her hands a little awkwardly when Howie blurts out “So how’s Evan?”

She pauses. How _is_ Evan? She knows that their current situation is better (safer) for him than their old one, but she can’t help but be unsure if she did the right thing by uprooting him completely. He isn’t really settling in at school, from what she’s been told, and it’s still early but he doesn’t seem to be trying to make any friends. He’s smart, she knows he is, he loves reading and soaks up information like a sponge, but his teacher told her he hasn’t really been participating in class. She must have gone quiet for too long because Howie’s face falls as he realizes he might have stepped in something without meaning to.

“Sorry, I just meant... you know, the little tumble he took. Scraped knees and all that.”

“Oh!” Right. That makes sense. Maddie wants to kick herself. “Yeah, he’s fine. You, uh... you did a good job cleaning them.”

Howie smiles, shaking his head. “Part of the job, you know. I’m glad. I’ve ... uh.” He wants to say that he’s been thinking about her, about the pretty girl and the frankly adorable kid she had with her, of their easy conversation and how she seemed to be completely alone in a new city, but he doesn’t want to push. He won’t be telling her that he blabbered on about their meeting to Hen all shift the day after it happened, and he definitely won’t be telling her about how before leaving them alone in the ER Hen had told him to “give her your number, dummy, so I can stop hearing you complain about how you didn’t do it last time.”

He wants to, he really does, but he doesn’t know what to say, and judging by the way she’s looking at him with those big brown eyes, opening and closing her mouth without actually saying anything, she doesn’t either. Luckily for his nerves (or unluckily for him in general) Maddie gets called over by another nurse and hurries off with a little wave.

Hen rolls her eyes when she sees the defeated slump to his shoulders as he comes back outside to where the ambulance was parked.

“Chicken.”


	4. Chapter 4

Over the month that follows they run into each other at the ER five times, not that anyone’s counting (they both are), but it isn’t until the fifth time that they are both free enough to stop and say more than a brief hello to each other. Hen gives Chimney an absolutely-not-subtle shove in Maddie’s direction, and as he stumbles forward and opens his mouth to say something he finds her holding out a scrap of paper.

“It’s... um...” she stumbles over her words. “Well, you’ll see.”

He takes it wordlessly. It’s a phone number, scrawled on a torn-off corner of a newspaper. Chimney can’t help the grin that spreads across his face.

“I was, uh, planning on giving you mine actually,” Chimney blurts out. Maddie’s face breaks into a relieved grin.

“Oh, good. I wasn’t sure if I was misreading or...” Chim shakes his head emphatically.

“No, no. I... yeah. Thank you, for...” he holds up the scrap of paper, but before he can say anything more Hen’s poking her head in through the ER doors, waving at him. He smiles apologetically at her before hurrying off to catch up to his partner.

\---

Their first two dates are at two of Chimney’s favourite local coffee shops, and both go pretty well if you ask him. The third, late on a Friday evening at a small Italian restaurant, seems to be going even better until Maddie gets a call that has her apologizing profusely and getting her food to go.

Chimney thinks he’d blown it (although he really isn’t sure how) until he gets a text from her the next day asking if they could meet up. He’s on shift but they agree to meet at a local bistro when he’s done. When he gets there he finds her already seated on the patio, wringing her hands nervously. She gets up when she sees him, opening and closing her mouth a few times before blurting out “I’m so sorry.”

Chimney shakes his head. “What for?”

“I ran out on you yesterday, I didn’t explain, I just...” Chimney stays quiet, sensing that she needs to get this out. “It’s just me and Evan.”

Chimney nods, he’d suspected as much but had never heard her confirm it.

“He, um... I don’t really like leaving him alone he... uh... I...”

Chimney reaches across the table to put a tentative hand on hers.

“We’re here, alone, we moved out here together. I mean _I_ moved us out here, and Evan is... sensitive. Both times we had coffee he was still at school but then yesterday I left him with our neighbour to watch him and I could tell he was nervous, I mean I was nervous, it’s the first time since we got here that he’s been somewhere that isn’t school or with me, but he didn’t say anything and I told him to absolutely call me if he needs me or just tell me if he didn’t want me to go but he would never say. I know he would never say and I should have listened to my gut and cancelled but I uh... I thought this,” she gestures between them, “could go... well? That sounds dumb. That sounds so dumb I’m sorry.”

Chimney shakes his head emphatically. “No, no. It doesn’t sound dumb at all. I uh... I was thinking the same thing, actually. I like you, Maddie. I was worried I screwed things up somehow.”

Then it’s Maddie frantically shaking her head. “No! No you did everything right, I just... Evan had a nightmare. He has them... a lot... and our neighbour called to say he woke up crying for me and I couldn’t...”

Chimney squeezes her hand gently. “I get it.” Maddie looks up at him, searching his face. Chimney smiles at her before looking down at their hands, running his thumb gently over the back of hers. “I really do get it. He’s gotta be your priority, and he should be.” Maddie sighs in relief. “I mean... if you don’t have time for this right now I totally get it, but if you would be open to it... you could always bring him next time? Or we could do something at home? Just have takeout, then you don’t have to have anyone watch him and we could just...” He looks back up at her to see her biting her lip as a grin spreads across her face.

“I would love that. Thank you.”

“Are you free next Friday?”

They text back and forth over the whole week debating what to eat, and when Maddie shows up at Chim’s door, Evan’s hand held tightly in hers, Chimney opens the door with a grin and declares “It’s Buffriday!”


	5. Chapter 5

Buffriday becomes a regular occurrence when they both have Friday off, and on the weeks they don’t they have Buffuesday or Buffursday (which makes Evan giggle and mumble “that doesn’t make any sense,” which obviously makes Chimney say it more).

Evan’s cast comes off (Chimney still doesn’t know what happened), and they make several trips for ice cream. They go to the pier, and to the zoo, and one day Maddie nervously asks Chimney for help with moving in some new furniture. He readily agrees, and it’s the first time he’s seen their place. While it makes him a little sad to know that they’ve been sleeping on a mattress on the floor together, the apartment unfurnished except for a couch and a few stools by the kitchen counter (he suspects she hasn’t really been able to afford new furniture until this point), he’s happy to help Maddie bring in and assemble their new beds and dining table.

Now that the Buckley house actually has furniture, Maddie nervously suggests they host the next home-date, and so they start alternating buffet nights every week.

Evan goes from giving Chimney nervous looks, eating quietly, and then hiding his nose in a book (the last few have been on whales, Maddie says he’s going through a bit of a phase) to throwing himself into Chimney’s arms when he sees him, and settling himself between the two of them to read after dinner while they chat. He usually nods off after a while, at which point Maddie will pull him into her lap and wrap her arms around him as they continue their conversation quietly.

Chimney is happier than he’s been in a long time, and he can’t hep but chatter non-stop about Maddie and Evan at firehouse meals. Hen and Bobby tease him relentlessly, but also start dropping hints that he should bring his new friends by the house.

So, one buffet night (Buffnesday, actually) at the Buckley place, once Evan has gone to bed, Chimney brings it up (just in case Maddie’s opposed to the idea, he doesn’t want to get Evan excited about something and wind up pressuring Maddie into doing something she doesn’t want to do). Maddie readily agrees to bring Evan by after school the following Monday, since she’s got the evening off.

Monday comes, and when he walks out to the driveway to greet them, Evan lets go of Maddie’s hand and bounds up to launch himself at Chimney. Chimney catches him easily and settles him on his hip, and then, after waiting for Maddie to catch up, takes her hand and gives them the grand tour, introducing them to everyone they walk by. 

When they meet Bobby, he shakes both Maddie and Evan’s hands seriously, telling them it’s an honour to meet them both. Evan seems a bit shy (and possibly overwhelmed by the sheer number of people he’s met), but warms up a little when Hen walks over and, after giving Maddie a quick hug and Evan a pat on the back, ruffles _Chim’s_ hair (despite his protest) and tells him off for taking so long to bring them to the house. The homemade cookie she hands Evan also probably helps.

Evan can’t keep the smile off his face as Chimney helps him clamber up to sit in the driver’s seat of the firetruck, and at Chimney’s urging, tentatively honks the horn, laughing in delight.

The next Buffriday, Evan shows up with a book on firefighters.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Probably going to start alluding more to past abuse at this point.
> 
> Also am I stealing lines from canon? Yes. You’ll recognize it.

They’ve been dating for four months when Chimney gets a call from Maddie at 7am on a Saturday. He’s asleep, as anyone who doesn’t have a Saturday shift should be, but when he hears the ring and sees her number flash on the screen he picks it up with a frown, throwing off the covers and starting to get dressed.

“Is everything okay?”

Maddie is quick to reassure him, “Yeah, yeah, everything is fine, just...They want me to come into work, they’re short-staffed but Carla, our neighbour, is on holiday with her family and I wasn’t sure who else to call. I mean I don’t really have another babysitter and he trusts you and he likes you and I was just wondering...”

“I’ll be there in twenty, or less.”

\---

When he gets to the Buckley apartment seventeen minutes later, sweating from his rushed bike ride, Maddie is already dressed for work and was clearly waiting by the door. She cuts off his apology with a kiss, an emphatic “ _thank you_ ,” tells him to call if he needs anything, that Evan is still sleeping, “He’s allergic to penicillin...not that you’ll need it... uh...don’t sting him with any bees? You’ll be fine, love you, thank you, bye!” and runs out the door.

It’s so rushed that Chimney doesn’t have time to respond to their first “I love you.”

\---

He’s been sitting on the couch with the TV muted when he hears the soft padding of footsteps. He looks up to see a drowsy Evan, curls a disastrous mess, rubbing sleep out of his eyes and blinking in confusion.

“Where’s Maddie?”

Chimney breathes a sigh of relief. He was worried there would be panic or tears when Evan realized Maddie wasn’t there. Evan’s eight, he’s a smart kid and he’s mature and he’s responsible, but sometimes Chimney feels like there’s something big he’s missing. He knows Evan has frequent nightmares and crawls into Maddie’s bed most nights, he knows he sometimes sees unexplainable fear in Maddie’s eyes when they’re out in public. Are kids usually as quiet as Evan is? Chimney doesn’t really know a lot of kids particularly well. Sure, he runs into them at work all the time, but Evan is really the only kid he sees on a regular basis. He knows that school isn’t going particularly well, despite the fact that Evan always has his nose in a book. He knows that Maddie’s worried about him making friends, that she worries about him getting bullied and his ability to fight back with how small he is, but...are those normal worries when you have a kid to take care of? Chimney’s not sure. He does know that Ross and Rachel's latest (silent) disagreement was not fully distracting him from his anxiety that the day would get off to a disastrous start once Evan realized who he’d been left with.

His worries seem to have been unfounded though. Evan seems fine, just tired and confused. Chimney is self-aware enough to admit that it makes him feel warm inside to realize that this kid trusts him.

“Maddie had to go into work, buddy, we’re having a guys’ day today, if that’s okay with you?”

Evan doesn’t say anything, just nods sleepily and comes over to plunk himself down beside Chimney on the couch, tucking his tiny frame into Chimney’s side. Chimney puts his arm around him and uses his other hand to ruffle his hair.

“What do you want for breakfast?”

\---

It turns out the younger Buckley is about as good at communicating what he wants to eat as his sister is - that is to say, no matter how much Chimney pesters him, he can’t get more than a shrug and an "okay” in response. Chimney wonders if he really doesn’t care or if he just doesn’t want to upset Chimney. He’s definitely noticed that the kid is a people pleaser.

After rooting around in their kitchen cupboards Chimney puts together a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for each of them. He watches as Evan eats the crusts first, as if to get them out of the way.

“Ah, sorry, I should have cut them off for you kiddo. Does Maddie usually?” Evan nods but doesn’t seem otherwise bothered so Chimney just lets him eat.

\---

When they’re done, Chimney sends Evan off to brush his teeth and tidies up the kitchen, wondering how to spend their day. Sure, he’s hung out with Evan many times, but Maddie’s always been there and he’s never had to think about how to entertain an eight-year-old for ten whole hours. Does he take naps or is he too old for that? What should they have for lunch? What about dinner? How much ice cream is too much ice cream?

There’s also the pressure (that he doesn’t want to admit to) for this to go well. He knows he’s been trusted with the most important thing in Maddie’s life and he really doesn’t want to screw it up. He has to toe that fine line between winning points with Evan and not upsetting Maddie by letting her brother have chocolate for every meal.

When Evan emerges a few minutes later, teeth (presumably) brushed and no longer dressed in pyjamas, Chimney stands up from the couch and, after attempting to straighten the kid’s wild blond curls looks down at him with what he hopes is a convincingly confident smile.

“So, what do you like to do for fun?”


	7. Chapter 7

Evan turns out to be as vocal about what he likes to do for fun as he was about breakfast, and Chimney spends thirty seconds panicking that they’re going to spend the entire day staring at each other in the Buckleys’ living room.

But no, he’s a grown man, he’s a paramedic, and Maddie trusted him with this. He can do better than that. He can problem solve. If he can wrangle the story of how an arm got broken out of a reluctant 22-year-old covered in canned beans and lube, he can get an eight-year-old to tell him what he wants to do today.

“Well, what do you like... in general?”

Evan shrugs.

“You like books, right? I always see you reading.”

Evan shrugs again, but Chimney thinks maybe that was a “yes” shrug and not just a shrug-shrug. He’s going to have to learn to interpret these shrugs.

“Well, what have you been reading about? Let’s go look.” He lets Evan lead him over to his backpack, and crouches down beside him as Evan pulls out his latest collection of library books. There’s one on firefighters, and four on different types of whales.

They’re new ones that he hasn’t seen before, Chimney is pretty sure. How many books on whales are there out there? Regardless, it gives him an idea. He nods decisively, tells Evan to grab what he needs for the day (and then grabs the kid a sweater and some other necessities, because he’s doubtful Evan will pack anything actually useful), makes sure the kid’s shoelaces are done up tight, and they’re on their way.

\---

They’ve been on the bus for about ten minutes when Evan finally speaks.

“Where are we going?”

Chimney wants to say it’s a surprise, but a good look at Evan tells him that the kid might be a little nervous. Surprises should be fun, so Chimney spills.

“You like whales, right?” Evan shrugs, but but Chimney’s pretty confident that he does, in fact, like whales, so he plows on. “Well, I thought we could go look at some!”

Evan’s silent for a moment.

“Real whales?” He doesn’t sound excited, and Chimney is suddenly nervous.

“Uhhh... yes? Well I dunno.. I thought it might be fun?”

The kid starts wringing his hands anxiously.

“Maddie said whale-watching was expensive.”

Chimney was just planning on the aquarium (because actually yes, he’d briefly looked up whale-watching while he was waiting for Evan to pack his things, and it did look a little pricey for a last-minute day out) but his anxiety turns to confusion. Is Evan worried about the money? He’d thought he’d misread the situation and Evan was weirdly afraid of whales or water or something but it doesn’t sound like that’s the issue here.

“No, no, kiddo, we’re just going to the aquarium. It’s even free for you because you’re not ten yet.” He’s absolutely taking this kid whale-watching on his birthday though.

“And they have whales?”

“Uh, I dunno? They’ve got ocean stuff?”

“Do they have blue whales?”

“Umm...” Chimney didn’t think this far. He quickly pulls out his phone, checks the phone number he'd jotted down, and calls the aquarium's information line. It turns out that they don’t, actually, have any whales available for public viewing. There are, apparently, a few smaller species being treated behind the scenes, but definitely no blue whales, and definitely no whales that a casual visitor can go look at on a whim. Shoot. Chimney looks down at Evan apologetically. “Sorry buddy... there aren’t actually any whales we can go and look at. I really didn’t look into this enough. Do you still want to go?”

For whatever reason, Evan looks relieved as he shrugs. Chimney wonders to himself if he’s really that clueless about kids, or if maybe he just doesn’t understand this one yet. Since Evan doesn’t actively appear to be objecting, they continue on their way to the aquarium.

As they tour the aquarium (sea otters, sea lions, and more fish than Chimney thinks he has ever seen in his life) he can’t help but notice that Evan keeps looking longingly at signs for the “All About Whales” exhibit. There definitely won’t be any real whales, but the girl on the phone had mentioned videos, interactive stations, and recordings of whale noises. He had been avoiding it because of the kid’s apparent reluctance to see whales on the bus. They’ve looked at pretty much everything else, but it seems they might have one more stop to make. Chimney crouches down in front of Evan and looks him seriously in the eyes.

“Do you want to go see the whale exhibit, kiddo?” Evan can’t help the grin that stretches across his face as he shrugs shyly. That’s clearly a “yes” shrug, so Chimney takes his hand and leads him to the exhibit.

\---

When they get there, the kid lights up. After having been mostly quiet all day, it seems Evan can’t contain his excitement and blurts out a few whale facts as they look around. When he seems to realize that Chimney is actually listening, and with a little encouragement in the form of a few leading questions, he really gets going, and by the time they’re halfway through the exhibit he’s talking a mile a minute, drawing from a seemingly endless supply of whale facts and stories.

They pass the gift shop on their way out, and Chimney is pretty sure he isn’t imagining Evan sneaking glances at a wall of stuffed animals, in particular a series of stuffed blue, humpback, beluga, and killer whales. When he leans down to ask if Evan would like one, however, the kid emphatically shakes his head no. This, like many things, confuses Chimney, so he trusts his gut and insists they go look in the gift shop anyway. When Evan is distracted by the books, Chimney grabs a blue whale stuffed toy and discreetly buys it, shoving it into his backpack, making sure that Evan isn’t looking.

As they’re leaving the aquarium he hears Evan’s stomach grumble and realizes guiltily that it’s well past lunch time. He’s surprised that the kid didn’t complain. They sit down on a bench and eat the sandwiches that Chimney packed for them that morning, and then Chimney insists that they get ice cream. After some cajoling, Evan picks chocolate, which Chimney can respect because he, too, appreciates the classics.

When they’re done (and when Chimney has helped Evan wash a decent amount of melted ice cream off of his face and hands) it’s well past 3pm and Evan is clearly tired. Chimney wordlessly picks him up and settles him on his hip, and Evan drops his head down to Chimney’s shoulder without complaint. As he walks them to the bus stop, Chimney gives Evan a little poke, and the kid lifts his head up drowsily.

“So, kiddo, I am unfortunately a truly terrible cook. This means we could go home now, and then just watch a movie or read or something, and I could make us some more sandwiches for dinner... or we could go somewhere where I know it’s spaghetti night.” The subtle raise of his eyebrows and the widening of bright blue eyes that accompany the one shoulder shrug from where Evan is slumped on Chimney’s shoulder tell him that the kid is definitely interested. So, instead of getting on the bus that they would need to take to go home, Chimney reroutes them toward the 118.


	8. Chapter 8

When they get to the station the trucks are out on a call, so Chimney carries a still sleeping Evan up to the loft and lays him down on the couch, makes himself a cup of coffee and settles in to wait. Everyone returns about twenty minutes later, and as they come thundering up the stairs, chattering loudly, Evan stirs and drowsily sits up, rubbing at his eyes.

Chimney grins down at him as the kid looks around in confusion, and his smile grows the second he sees Evan’s eyes light up as he realizes where he is.

“We’re at the firehouse?”

“You betcha, buddy! And Cap makes the _best_ spaghetti.”

Hen makes it up the stairs first, and when she spots them a broad smile spreads across her face.

“Hey, Cap! You got a new recruit!” she shouts over her shoulder.

“What?” There’s confusion in Bobby’s voice, but when he makes it to the loft and sees them he bites back a grin, schooling his face into a mock-serious expression. “I see that I do. Well then, you’d better get him looking the part. I’m going to start on dinner.

Chimney grabs Evan’s hand and he and Hen lead him back down the stairs to where the turnout gear is stored. Chimney grabs his gear and brings it out onto the apparatus floor, dropping it onto the ground in a heap. He crosses his arms and looks down at Evan, who is looking back up at him with apprehension in his bright eyes. “Well, we’d better get to work.”

\---

When they’re done Evan looks more like a pile of turnout gear than a person wearing it, his tiny frame absolutely lost in the jacket and pants. His face is almost entirely covered by the helmet. Chimney takes a quick picture while Evan giggles, his mouth just barely visible, and sends it off to Maddie.

Then, because they obviously have to present Evan to Bobby, he picks up the kid, gear and all (right out of the boots, which Hen grabs and carries as she follows) and totes him up the stairs to the kitchen. When they get there Bobby is just setting the sauce to simmer, and he turns around to face them with his arms crossed.

“Well?” Hen puts the boots down and helps Chimney slide Evan’s feet into them, before tilting the helmet back so that Bobby can see the Evan’s face. Chimney doesn’t think he’s ever seen the kid smile so brightly (so he sneakily takes another picture). Bobby walks around Evan, looking him up and down with a critical eye. When he concludes his obviously-very-serious inspection, he nods approvingly, and reaches out to shake the kid’s hand (or really the sleeve of the jacket, because Evan’s hands are absolutely hidden).

“Welcome to the team, Firefighter Buckley.”

They parade him around the firehouse for a bit, much to the delight of the other firefighters on duty, but as soon as they notice Evan getting tired (the gear is heavy, after all) they take it off of him and settle him on the couch to watch TV while Bobby finishes up dinner.

\---

Dinner is uneventful. Evan eats quietly, careful not to make any mess. Chimney is honestly pretty impressed, given that it’s spaghetti and sauce, and when Bobby catches his eye across the table and silently mouths _“ice cream?”_ Chimney shrugs and nods. Maddie never has to know he gave the kid ice cream twice in one day. Well, she definitely will know. He’s really bad at keeping things from her, and if Evan is bouncing off the walls when they get home it will be pretty obvious, but he can’t help but dote on this kid and it’s pretty obvious that Bobby and Hen (and the rest of the firehouse) are having trouble keeping themselves from spoiling him too. So many of the firefighters snuck Evan candy during his little Firefighter Buckley tour that he might as well have been trick-or-treating.

Even after Evan is out of the gear the other firefighters continue calling Evan “Firefighter Buckley,” which delights Evan to no end. After dinner and dessert, while the team is helping clean up, Bobby heads back to his office and comes back with an LAFD baseball cap. Tightening it as far as it goes, he places it on Evan’s head. It’s still a little big, but with the way Evan beams up at Bobby from under the brim as he thanks him shyly, it’s clear he doesn’t mind. Chimney grabs their stuff before taking Evan’s hand.

“Time to go home, Firefighter Buckaroo.”


	9. Chapter 9

By the time they get home it’s almost 8pm, so Chimney sends Evan off to brush his teeth and get ready for bed. The kid must be exhausted, because he doesn’t complain at all, just quietly gets ready and goes to bed. Chimney checks on him once to make sure he’s actually asleep, and then settles down on the couch with the TV on mute to wait. When Maddie gets back an hour later he’s dosed off, slumped over awkwardly. He wakes up to a gentle kiss to the cheek, and when he gets up with a yawn, not entirely looking forward to the bike ride home, Maddie grabs his hand and pulls him in to kiss him again.

“Just stay the night, Chim.”

\---

Chimney and Maddie are curled up together on the couch the next morning after breakfast when Chimney turns to her, a pensive look on his face.

“Hey, Maddie?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask you something?”

She frowns, curious. “Sure?”

“So I was trying to figure out the perfect place to take Evan yesterday, because, you know, I really want him to like me...”

Maddie snorts. “He likes you, Chim, relax.”

“Yeah, maybe, but he’s always so quiet, it’s just so hard to tell sometimes.”

Maddie smiles fondly and settles her head on Chimney’s shoulder. “He does like you, Howie, I promise. I can tell.”

“Maybe...” Chimney starts playing with her hair. “But I couldn’t figure out whether or not he likes whales so...”

Maddie turns to look up at him, amused. “Uh, yeah, Chim. He _loves_ whales. I have to take him back to the library to replenish his stash of books every week, I really do think they’re going to run out.”

“But when I brought up going to see them he definitely got upset.”

Maddie sat up straighter, confused. “What? Why would he be upset? I’m telling you, Chim, he loves them.”

“I dunno? He said whale watching was expensive?” 

Maddie pinched the bridge of her nose. “Shit, I shouldn’t have told him that.” Chimney looked at her questioningly. “He asked if we could go right when we moved here, because, you know, no whale watching in Hershey, but it was right when we got here and we hadn’t even bought proper furniture, I had to say no, I just didn’t have the money.”

“To be fair, it is pretty pricey?”

“Yeah, but... I should have made up an excuse. He worries too much about money.”

Chimney looked at her with a frown. “Your... eight-year-old brother... worries about money?” Maddie looked down to pick at a loose thread on her sweater.

“Yeah... it’s... I’ll talk to him.” She paused, something else registering. “Wait - you didn’t actually take him whale watching, did you? I don’t understand how he hasn’t mentioned it yet if you did, I thought you guys just went to the aquarium?” Chimney nods quickly.

“Yeah, we went to the aquarium. But even when I told him that that’s where we were going, and that his ticket was even free, he still seemed kind of upset until I confirmed there _weren’t_ any whales there. Like I checked on my phone. And so I thought maybe he just likes reading about them and doesn’t actually want to see one but when we were actually at the aquarium he really seemed to like that exhibit the best? Also I don’t understand how he has so much whale information tucked away I really think he could have talked for hours. And then when we were passing the gift shop he said he didn’t want anything but I could tell he couldn’t keep his eyes off the whale toys. I actually bought one when he wasn’t looking but then I wasn’t sure if he’d like it or not so I figured I’d ask you first because really and truly I love him to bits but that kid confuses me.” Maddie’s smile has been growing the entire time Chimney has been rambling, and he can’t help but feel even more confused. She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before untangling herself from the couch throw and getting up.

“Come on.” He follows her to Evan’s room where Evan is on the floor putting together a puzzle. “Hey, bunny?” The kid looks up. “What’s your favourite animal?”

Evan barely takes a second before he answers. “Whales?” Maddie nods sagely.

“Would you like to see some one day?” The kid nods tentatively. “Would you like to see some in an aquarium?” Evan shakes his head. “And why is that, bunny?”

“Aquarium whales are sad.” Maddie picks him up and settles him on her hip, running the fingers of her free hand through his hair.

“Why do you think they’re sad?”

“Because they’re big.”

“And big things are just always sad?” Maddie’s talking to Evan as he sits on her hip but her eyes are on Chimney.

“Aquariums are small.”

Chimney finally realizes what’s been going on and he can’t help but pressing a kiss to the kid’s hair. “I’ll be right back.”

He rushes back into the living room where he left his bag and pulls the whale out, ripping off the tag. Holding it behind his back he makes his way back to where Maddie is still standing holding Evan. Maddie realizes what he’s doing and nods encouragingly, biting back a smile.

“I got you a present, kiddo.”

Evan looks confused. “Why?”

Maddie looks unexplainably sad, but Chimney plows on. “Because I had _such_ a great day with you yesterday and I wanted you to remember it.” Evan buries his face in Maddie’s neck bashfully, so Chimney walks up to them and tucks the whale into Evan’s arms. Evan gives him a shy smile and a quiet thank you, and Maddie grabs Chimney’s hand and squeezes, a fond smile on her face and happy tears in her eyes.

Maybe they’ll be okay.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: The abuse (emotional, verbal and physical) is discussed openly.
> 
> Also I don’t know anything about anything American law (or any law, really) or about getting custody of a kid, so hopefully it’s plausible but sorry if it’s way off.
> 
> I did google how much the tooth fairy leaves on average.

They settle into a routine. Chimney takes over babysitting duties from the Buckleys’ neighbour when he’s off shift, and most days he babysits he takes the kid by the firehouse.

He spends the night at the Buckley apartment more and more often, so it’s really pretty inevitable that he eventually witnesses Evan’s nightmares. They happen fairly frequently at first, but then, as time goes on, less and less often. He knows Maddie has been taking him to a child psychologist, so he supposes, and hopes, that that’s helping.

Even with their lessening frequency, Chimney is pretty used to being woken up by cries from the next room, to following Maddie as she jumps out of bed and races to her brother, to watching sadly, wishing he knew how to help, as she holds him while he cries.

What Chimney isn’t expecting to be woken by, however, is tossing and turning and a flailing arm from right beside him.

“Maddie? Maddie it was just a dream, you’re okay, you’re okay.” She’s shaking her head desperately, pushing his hands off of her as she untangles herself from the bedsheets and runs to Evan’s room. Evan is still asleep, the stuffed whale’s tail held loosely in his hand, and Maddie’s breathes a sigh of relief which quickly turns into sobs that she covers her mouth to try to stifle.

“Come on, it’s okay.” He puts his arm around her and ushers her out of Evan’s room and back to their own. Getting back into bed he pulls her close to him, and she tucks herself against his chest, trying to wipe away her tears. “Do you want to tell me what it was about? Might help to talk about it?”

At first Maddie starts to shake her head, but then she hesitates. She turns in his grip to face him more fully, nervously looking into his eyes before sighing and settling back into his hold.

“I’m...” Chimney presses a kiss to her hair, waiting for her to continue. “I... never told you why we moved out here.”

Chimney stills. He had wondered, sure, had suspected it wasn’t exactly a happy story. But in the months they’d known each other, he really hadn’t learned anything about it. He knows they’re from Pennsylvania, he knows where Maddie got her nursing degree, he’s heard her mention at least one cousin but... that’s it. He doesn’t actually even know her parents’ names.

“My parents... I mean... they were okay with me, I guess. A little emotionally distant but they never hurt me or anything. Average, worked a lot, left me home alone a lot but it was fine. I had food and a roof and it was... it was fine.”

Chimney doesn’t really think that that sounds like it was actually _fine_ , but he doesn’t interrupt.

“Evan was... Evan was an accident.” She’s whispering now, giving the closed door furtive glances. It’s obviously something she doesn’t want Evan to overhear, and it’s just as obvious why. “And then dad got laid off when he was just a baby, and money was tight, and he started drinking more, and sometimes when he was drunk he would... he would tell Evan that he was a mistake, that he was a waste of money, of time, of space...” She’s crying, tears streaming down her face. Chimney’s frozen. Everything is starting to make sense. “He started picking up jobs here and there but he was still... he was still drinking... still angry, still telling this... this toddler, this _baby_ , who never wanted anything more than a little love, that he was in the way, and that he cost too much and that he was a mistake and that.... that he regretted him being born at all. Evan’s been... he’s been hearing those things since before he was even old enough to understand what they meant. I mean... some of them he probably still doesn’t understand but... it’s all he knew, for so, so long.” 

Chimney squeezes her tighter, tears pricking at his eyes.

“Our mom... she was kind of detached, and even though she was feeding him and putting him to bed she just... wasn’t really there. I don’t know if she really cared at all, which I never... I never understood. The moment I held him in my arms I was completely in love. Those blue eyes and the little tuft of blond hair and I was in love with that baby, with every bit of my being but she just...” She shakes her head, swiping quickly at the tears on her face before continuing.

“Evan wasn't even two when I graduated high school and I already knew it was bad...but I... I was eighteen and I kind of wanted to grab him and run but I didn’t have any money, I didn’t have a job and... I had an offer to nursing school with some scholarships and I got a few loans and...” she breaks off with a sob. Chimney just holds her tighter. “I _left_ him.”

“Maddie...” 

“No. I... I _left him there.”_ She covers her mouth, trying to cry silently, not wanting to wake up her brother. “I told myself they weren’t physically hurting him and _I left him there alone_.”

Chimney shakes his head desperately, searching for the right words to say. She was young, she didn’t have the means to take care of him... it must have felt impossible.

“You were a child, Maddie. You have him now, and he’s safe and happy and he has a whole bunch of people who love him. _I_ love that kid. _So much_.”

Maddie looks up into his eyes again before ducking her head back down in shame.

“No. It... Every time I went back to visit it was worse.”

Chimney feels his stomach sinking. “Worse?”

“I started seeing the bruises and even with all the excuses they made I _knew_... and so I started to look into if it really would be possible for me to get him, but being halfway through school, and jobless and... I knew it would be hard. And every time I would leave for school again he would _cling_ to me and cry, and I just... kept leaving him. Telling him that it was going to be okay, that I’d be back for him soon.”

Chimney starts running his fingers through her hair, but keeps quiet.

“He broke his arm once, when he was five. Hairline fracture, he had a cast when I got back for Christmas. Our mom said he fell off the playground, and Evan never disagreed. God, he never wanted anything but to please them. He’d agree with anything, say anything, do _anything_ they asked. I still don’t know for sure what happened. I mean maybe he _did_ just fall off the playground.

“I graduated, and so I was applying for jobs and for custody at the same time. They didn’t want to give it up. I don’t even know why, but they fought it, and without any concrete proof...”

She turns in his hold, tucking herself into his side with a sigh.

“Then everything kind of happened at once. I got a long-term offer here in LA, and a week or so after dad came home really drunk, and angry, and he pushed Evan down the stairs, knocked Mom into a cabinet. Evan broke his arm. The same one, actually, but a compound fracture this time. God, his tiny, _tiny_ arm just...” She shakes her head. “Mom was concussed, and she finally admitted to the... the abuse at the hospital, said she’d support my application, and so it got pushed through and before the end of the month we were here.”

Chimney presses a kiss to her hair, speechless for a moment. He clears the emotion from his throat.

“Maddie... Maddie... I’m so, _so_ glad you’re both safe. And I’m so glad you’re both here.”

“He never laid a hand on me, though, I...” Chimney cut her off.

“No, no. I’m glad you’re _both_ safe, and away from all that.” He pauses as questions pop into his head. “Wait, do they know where you are? Would... would they do anything if they did?”

Maddie shakes her head. “They know I got a job in California, but they don’t know where. I didn’t tell them where I was going, and I didn’t give them my new number. I just... I wanted Evan to have a fresh start. He’s _eight_ and he has so much anxiety and fear and... I thought he deserved one.”

“He did. _You_ did too.” He tucks her hair behind her ear. “And you have a family here, now. You both do. You’ll be okay.”

\---

Hen becomes “Auntie Hen,” and Bobby becomes “Uncle Bobby” and sometimes “Uncle Cap,” which is usually accompanied by a cheeky grin and followed by tickle fights. They have barbecues at Bobby’s place, and movie nights at Hen’s, and go out as a team for picnics at the beach.

The other firefighters continue calling Evan “Firefighter Buckley,” which becomes “Buckley” which becomes just “Buck” and then becomes so engrained that when they get him a tiny t-shirt with the LAFD logo printed on it for Christmas, they stamp “Buck” across the back.

Evan loses a tooth and Chimney slips a $20 bill under his pillow to join Maddie’s dollar, and when Maddie realizes she shoots Chimney an exasperated look, trying to look disapproving but clearly fighting to hide a grin.

Maddie, Chimney and Evan go whale watching for Evan’s birthday, and Chimney doesn’t think he’s ever seen his kid smile so brightly. He hangs a picture of the three of them in his locker, and tries to remember just when Evan became _his_. 

They’ll be okay.


End file.
